Fishing update 3/29/12

[Muskie Matt]

Early warm weather has brought about some interesting fishing opportunites and situations this year. You might call this report "Fishing the Taint", hahahaha! With gamefish season closing back at the beginning of the month and not due to reopen until the beginning of May, we're kind of caught between seasons... in the Eagle River area. Of course we can still target panfish during this time and early warm weather has made it quite comfortable to do so. But, did you know there are a couple options available to LEGALLY target walleye and other gamefish such as pike and bass? Well my friends, I'm here in River City to tell you... you don't have to hide under a bridge or constantly look over your shoulder to catch "White-Tipped Perch" this time of year (a lot of this has been going on this year). Here are a couple ideas to get a good walleye dinner while keeping your money in your wallet instead of in the conservation officers hands.

#1. Try the Escanaba Lake Research area. A group of 5 lakes NW of Eagle River dedicated to fisheries research. Many different fishing regs apply here, including an open gamefish season this time of year. You have to register at the main research station on Escanaba Lake before fishing any of the lakes... but hey... It's FREE!

#2 Take a trip SW of Eagle River to Tomahawk, WI and the Wisconsin River. On the south side of town, beginning at the paper mill dam, the WI River is open to walleye fishing. You can fish from shore or from a boat if you decide to haul yours down there. Pete and I found the local bait stores very helpful with info and determining just where we could fish legally for gamefish. Its a cool outing, well worth the travel time to do a little walleye fishing.

These two fishing locations will provide great fun during this early warm spell and keep you out of trouble with local wardens if you want to fish some early season walleyes.

I've been fishing at both the abovementioned locations and found it to be a fair bite at either, not red-hot fishing, but very do-able with enough action to make for an exciting outing. Water temps are running 42-44 lately. Just cool enough to make the walleyes a little tentative with their spawning here in the north. They're not quite coming up to spawning areas in full force, more a spotty "few at a time" type of run, which is actually common with this type of early spring weather. Our weather has cooled down in the area, keeping water temps steady or even dropping a bit and that will hold back the walleyes some.

I've just been using the two standard approaches: The jig n minnow cast and retrieve along with the slip bobber over a minnow still-fished. Its not rocket science but take a whole handful of jigs, if you're doing it right, you're gonnna lose jigs... and even slip-bobber rigs.

One very important note: Get your new fishing license! The old ones expire Mar 31st

[Pete Stoltman]

Good report Matt and excellent point about getting your license now. Here are a couple tips for folks to keep in mind. If you still have your 2011 license, bring it with you. The clerk can just scan the bar code and not bother with a whole lot of questions for you. It will save you both some time. Be prepared to know what kind of license you want: standard adult annual, husband/wife, senior, or junior, etc. If you are getting a license for the first time it is important to bring some kind of documentation with you. You may be required to show proof of residency (important if you moved to the state in the last year), social security number, and a valid drivers license or state ID can be helpful.